Long Tentacle Anemone

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Widely distributed in the warm tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. Found on shallow sandy or muddy flats, often near seagrass beds.

Taxonomy: Member of the Actiniidae family, genus Macrodactyla. Characterized by an elongated column that buries in the sand and long, wavy, widely-spaced tentacles. Reaches up to 35 cm.

Social Behavior: Semi-sessile organism. While it anchors its foot in the sand, it can crawl slowly to find optimal lighting and flow conditions.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Column is typically red, orange, or brown; tentacles are grayish, green, or brown, often with white spots. No sexual dimorphism.

Tank Setup: Needs a mature reef system of at least 200 liters. **Requires a fine sand bed of at least 8-10 cm in depth** to allow the foot to bury and anchor.

Diet and Feeding: Photosynthetic and carnivorous. Relies on zooxanthellae but requires regular target feeding of chopped fresh shrimp, scallop, or mysis directly onto the tentacles.

Water Quality: High stability required: specific gravity 1.023-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, temperature 22°C-26°C. Nitrates and phosphates must be kept near zero.

Compatibility and Tankmates: Commonly hosts symbiotic clownfish species. Can sting nearby corals, so keep a safe distance between them.

Aquarium Breeding: Reproduces by longitudinal fission or sexual spawning. Captive spawning in home aquariums is very rare and difficult to manage.

Risks and Diseases: Primary hazard is being sucked into unprotected powerheads or wavemakers. Highly sensitive to osmotic shock during acclimation.